Author Archives: Kathy

Comments on Cosby

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Kathy

  Don’t read the comments. This is an important rule of modern media life. The comments following online articles, reviews, and even YouTube videos can be so hateful, so downright moronic as to obliterate not only your faith in humanity but … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bill Cosby: Lost, Stolen, or Strayed

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Kathy

A couple of months ago, my sisters and I cleaned out the attic of my mom’s old house, unearthing precious mementos amidst the junk. My treasures included my old Bill Cosby records, which I had thought lost. There they were, invaluable … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Pride” in Noble Acts

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Kathy

  The new movie Pride is what my husband calls, with a hint of irony, a crowd-pleaser. A crowd-pleaser usually contrives not to challenge or surprise the audience but to make them smile and even pander to their world view. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Kathy

An avid reader, my dad was a thoughtful, liberal sort. He opposed the war in Vietnam before I did, and he supported the Civil Rights Movement ahead of most white people I knew. Despite his enlightened ways, though, he was … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Animal + Music Book Titles

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Kathy

Awhile ago, I reviewed a book for the Plain Dealer called Frog Music* and soon after read a book with a similar title. My reactions to the two were very different, however. Emma Donoghue, an Irish writer who lives in … Continue reading →

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Connecting

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Kathy

I’ve written here before about my dad’s experiences at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City. Brush-Moore Newspapers, the company that owned the Canton Repository, where my dad worked, sent him to the Institute a number of … Continue reading →

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A Dog, Ovid, and Poetry

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Kathy

Prologue Sometimes things connect. I find this frequently in my teaching life, my reading life, and my life life. Suddenly lots of themes and ideas keep recurring. I can’t connect the dots among the areas I’m about to describe. I’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day, Frederic Wheelock!

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Kathy

I am a teacher blessed with terrific students. It has not always been so.  Through many years, I sometimes struggled with unkind, arrogant students, annoying ones, and lazy ones. I’ve had extremely unpleasant encounters with parents. I’ve been accused of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Joe Update

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Kathy

I wrote about my GED student Joe back in November, when I recounted our travails in trying to get him some extra time for the test, due to a learning disability originally diagnosed when he was nineteen. We weren’t able … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

I Am Beset by a Grammatical Dilemma

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Kathy

In the winter semester (they call it “spring,” but, um, no), I teach a writing seminar at an institution I’ll call the More Prestigious University, or MPU. It’s a choosy place, which selects students carefully based on grades and high … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments